I have really fallen off the meal planning wagon. It has really made for a stressful evening, which would usually end in getting something delivered or cereal. Not good. Last month was a bit of a whirlwind, with all the sports, school, and Little E in the hospital for 4 days (he had pneumonia, he’s ok now).

I’m determined to get it together and have some sort of plan. This week is a no frills, basic meal plan. It’s going to take me a bit to get back in the swing of things and come up with more exciting dinners. I have also discovered that I should do the plan before lunch instead of after. I don’t plan food well on a full stomach!

A few weeks ago, on his way home from work, Mr D called and said he had a surprise for us. I, for the life of me, could not figure out what it was, but I think I was just as excited to find out as the boys were. I figured at the very least maybe he was bringing dinner home, lol.

No such luck. It turns out a friend from work gave him a 10 gallon fish tank, for free. Now, Mr D and I had talked in the past about getting a fish tank, but I didn’t really want to because of the cost, so Mr. D thought this was a great compromise. Unfortunately the phrase “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” kept popping into my head. All three of my boys were excited about it so I went along. I made sure to make Mr. D sign a contract though, saying he would take care of everything and I wouldn’t even so much as have to feed any of the future fish.

We headed on down to our local pet store that next weekend and got some essentials that didn’t come with the “free” tank. We needed a lamp, filter and heater. The tank already had some rocks for the bottom and some other decorative rocks that made a kind of formation that the fish could swim through. We (read I) wanted to get something that made bubbles too, so we got a volcano that “errupts” too. It turned out that our tank would take too long to heat to bring home some tropical fish, so we got two female betas that were not supposed to fight.

If anyone tells you that female betas (otherwise known as Chinese Fighting Fish) won’t fight, don’t belive them. Ours did. I felt so bad for them that I made Mr. D go back to the pet store and bring back some plastic fish bowls to put them in. I am such a pushover! In addition to that he brought home two bottom feeder catfish things. OK, everything is great and we are done with the tank, right?

Apparently not. This past Saturday I found out we were going to get some more fish that actually swam around the tank. OK, fine. We head back to the pet store and get 6 guppies. They are really pretty with bright tails. I actually really like them. Along with all the fish we have purchased, we have also bought three different fish foods, two different water treatments, a net, and a backdrop for the tank.

Mind you, all of these purchases were made with cash and within budget. Instead of spending the money on eating out, which is what we normally spend out entertainment money on, we got all of this. The boys have really enjoyed going to the pet store and checking everything out, picking out their fish, and helping Mr. D set up the tank. So, although I wasn’t really that into it, it has turned into something better to spend our money on rather than take out. The boys are also taking turns feeding the fish, which I think is really teaching them some responsibility.

I do have a feeling those two beta fish are going to live until the boys head off to college. It’s just my luck! Oh, and although I haven’t minded spending the money on them, 2 of the guppies have already met their demise and have been “flushed”! Mr. D neglected to tell me that it’s normal to lose fish when your tank is being set up. I have so much to learn!

This week is a bit of a short one as far as a meal plan goes. We are camping this weekend, so I’m not planning those meals yet. We are getting together with friends tonight to go over what everyone is going to bring. This is going to be our first official camping trip with the boys, so I am very excited! It’s been years since I have been, but it is something that I enjoyed very much. Actually, Mr. D and I met on a camping trip!

My poor neglected blog. In typical fashion I have yet again started something and not finished it! Not to be discouraged I have decided that I will not give up!

Last month was a great month for us. We were almost successful on the Eat at Home Challenge. We ended up eating out 3 times. It may not sound good, but for us it was a great accomplishment. Unfortunately I can’t mark it towards the 12 months of no eating out on the 101 Goals. We have already *shame on us* eaten out twice this month! Old habits die hard.

Last month also kept us busy with the end of school activities and two weeks of swim lessons. The fair was in town and the boys and I met up with a bunch of friends and had a great time. So far this summer we have had lots of fun with the slip and slide, water guns, crafts, reading, and play dates! I have been sleeping in a bit in the mornings too. I have decided I will continue to give myself that leisure until August. I will get myself back on a routine so that I can be ready for school to start come August 17th.

This month I am hoping to take the boys out for a few outings. Places like state parks and the beach, as well as just checking out things around town. We are taking our first family camping trip as well. I’m very excited for this. We will be tent camping with another family who are great friends and have kids the same ages as the boys. The place we are going is near the coast, so I am a bit apprehensive about how cold it will get at night. I plan to bring a bunch of blankets! I hate to be cold!!

I have been neglecting my 101 Goals list as well. I am picking myself up and dusting off, and getting back on the horse. First thing I am going to do is go through the list again and pick a few things I can get started on. Once I pick those I will come up with action plans for them and get the time to devote to them scheduled.

Goal #64 is to eat at home all month 12 times. June 2010 is our second attempt. (The first attempt, April 2010 didn’t go so well.)

Day 1 – I’ve attempted this many times in the past, but have never completely gone an entire month without eating out. Eating out is my weakness. I love to have someone else make a meal for me, and then clean up afterwards too. I know some people don’t like the taste of restaurant food compared to their own. I’ve been told by DH that I am a good cook, and I think my own food tastes good, but I really do like restaurant food. So this month, as a family, we decided that we are going to do it. DH is definitely on board, and the boys have to follow whether they want to or not, lol. They both agreed to it last night though, so they are on board too. (Although Eddie asked for Burger King today. I had to give him a gentle reminder.) I didn’t start out to well with the menu planning though. I was going to go to the store today, but the long weekend got me all mixed up. I forgot I had to go to a client’s office while the boys were in school so instead of taking them both with me I decided to wait until tomorrow morning when I will only have one. So the boys are having cereal and waffles. DH and I are having leftover burgers from the weekend. Not exactly full of nutrition but at least we are eating at home! One day down – 29 to go!

Here are the goals from last week. I have discovered that I need to write these on an actual piece of paper in addition to posting them here. I get so bogged down in the normal day-to-day that I forget what I wanted to focus on! I am basically using the same list for my goals this week, with the exception of getting the tomato plants tied up. That is one thing I did do. Oh, and it rained again so it was a good thing I didn’t put the snail bait down. It would have just been washed away. See, I can be frugal without even thinking about it!

Goal #27 – Sell used CD’s – I’m actually expecting this to run for a few weeks. I want to at least get started on it.

Goal #52 – Get printed pictures in an album

Goal #61 – come up with a weekly outline of what needs to be done when.

Goal #85 – Paint toes

Misc – Knit for an hour each evening, put down snail bait.

I’m now off to write these down. I’m also going to work on the pictures tonight for at least 15 minutes before I get out my knitting. Wish me luck!

Do you have any goals that you are trying to meet this week? Please share in the comments!